The Friends of Solihull Hospital Fete was a great success and at last after a couple of miserable wet years the sun shone brightly. I know the amount of hard work that the committee puts in to make the event successful and they were duly rewarded on the 12th June. The band generally starts the fete off playing a few tunes once the Solihull Lord Major has opened the fete. We played a few tunes and came off feeling job well done as the crowd were very appreciative of the music we played.  As we looked around the stalls afterwards some people were telling us we should have played more, they were really enjoying it. It was great to have Jim Clark playing with us again and we should be seeing a lot more of him as his time is divided equally between Wicklow Town and Birmingham.
We have a very busy few weeks ahead of us. Carnivals and fetes are our main money earners and July is the month where we earn much of the funds that will carry us through the year. On Saturday 3rd July we are playing at the Acocks Green Carnival. This starts at about 12.30 in the afternoon and sees us playing along the high street up to the main park in Acocks Green. It is always an event that we enjoy and there is always a great crowd along the route and at the park at the end. There is also a great deal of entertainment in the park to keep everybody entertained till the end of the day. Saturday 10th July we are playing at the Astwood Bank Carnival. This is quite a long route but really enjoyable to take part in. Over the last few years we have been positioned behind various types of floats. Memorable is when we were behind a huge steam traction engine. It was pouring with rain and the steam from the engine made it feel as if we were marching through a sauna. We shall see what this year brings, hopefully it will bring about one of the best places a pipe band can play in again..The Beer Tent.  Astwood Bank Carnival has not been blessed with the best weather over the last few years but we are hoping that this year will prove a lot different.
A highlight of the year is the Ashbourne Highland Games. Held in Ashbourne in Derbyshire it is the biggest highland games held outside of Scotland. There are many events throughout the day such as strong man competitions, caber tossing, tug of war, many arena events and loads of stalls. As well as this it also holds the English pipe Band Competition. There are 17 top bands from England competing this year in grades from 4b to 1.There are also Drum Major competitions and solo piping competitions, it really is a great family fun filled day of entertainment.  It promises to be a very busy day for the BIPD. We will be marching the Chieftain and all the dignitaries through the town onto the field at 12 noon along with members of the Shirley Pipe Band and The Triumph Pipe Band. Hopefully we should have a pretty impressive band in numbers and sound to lead them on to the field. At 5pm we will be playing in the massed band finale along with the other 17 bands and then at 6pm we have the opportunity to play through the town again. The town is absolutely thronged with spectators for this and the atmosphere is fantastic. Half way along the route there is a competition where the Drum Majors try to throw their maces in a dignified and professional manner over a banner straddling buildings on either side of the street. The banner is very high and you have to be a brave member of the public to be standing nearby.
Quite a few of us from the band make a weekend of it and camp in Ashbourne from the Friday evening. We set up camp and enjoy a leisurely evening eating, participating in a drink or 2 and having a great time keeping ourselves entertained. It is amazing how quickly the evening goes by. Saturday is fairly leisurely with a walk round Ashbourne and enjoying the street entertainers that provide entertainment throughout the day. On the evening we will all be charging towards the field at Ashbourne for a great night of entertainment with the Red Hot Chillie Pipers. We watched them last year at the same time and we have all decided that they are well worth another visit, Bag Pipe Rock, fantastic. It will be back to the campsite fairly late, no doubt a bit of a chat and a laugh then off to bed for a fairly early rise, (breakfast about 9ish).
So, the next few weeks are going to be entertaining, busy and fun, Hard work also but the funds received for the band at the end of it will make it all worthwhile. We are thinking about holding a fancy dress Halloween dance at the end of October and when details are near being finalised we shall let you have all the details.
If you would like to contact the band please  email richard@birminghamirishpipesanddrums.co.uk we hope to see some of you at the above events in the coming weeks,

We have two bids in at present and are waiting to hear the outcome and you can guarantee that should we be successful in either bid it will help the band enormously. So, if you are out there and know of ways that the BIPD can attract funding from charitable bodies then please let us know. Email bill@birminghamirishpipesanddrums.co.uk
On a lighter note we had a great time playing for Sister Sabina and her walking entourage as we played through Cannon Hill Park on the 23rd of May. As usual the sister had a great following and the great BBC WM presenter Bob Brolly was there to start the proceedings off. This was probably the first time in 3 years that the weather exceeded everybody’s expectations, it was beautiful. As we marched through the park there were hundreds of people enjoying a great sunny Sunday afternoon. To say they were slightly puzzled to see and hear a pipe band marching through the park would be an understatement, but they all loved it. At the end of each set we received loud rounds of applause not just from the walkers behind us but also the crowd at large. As we let the walkers past to finish their walk I looked at the band and wondered what they would think if I said that we would play our way back to the start. Astonishment! Joy! Bewilderment. None of the above, we all marched and played our way back to the beginning of the march enjoying ourselves as we went. That’s what pipe bands do.
We are playing at The Solihull Hospital Fete on the 12th June at 2pm. Acocks Green Carnival on the 3rd July. Astwood Bank Carnival on the 10th July and the brilliant Ashbourne Highland Games on the 18th July. 3 weeks of hard work but great fun, we hope to see many of you at these events.
If you would like to contact the band about joining or an event you would like us to appear at please email richard@birminghamirishpipesanddrums.co.uk

If you wish to contact the band please email:
richard@birminghamirishpipesanddums.co.uk